First Taste: Blue Onyx Bistro

Earlier this year, Chef David Chang( owner of Redfish Seafood Grill in north-west Houston) opened his newest restaurant in the Afton Oaks neighborhood, just inside the West Loop close to the Galleria. Blue Onyx Bistro serves seafood, steaks and sushi in a relaxing environment decorated with inspiration from the Blue Onyx Stone.

The Blue Onyx is a a stone believed to give strength and happiness while balancing the mind and body. So while walking through the restaurant, you will notice its incorporated into the design of the restaurant. This is a beautiful, relaxing restaurant, from the bar area to the main, private and covered outside dining areas.

I had the pleasure of previewing their menu last weekend. Y’all know there’s nothing better than a lovely conversation over great food. Blue Onyx has a wide array of rum available for cocktails, which quickly grabbed my attention as I looked through the menu before the tasting. I had a great conversation with Howie(pictured above), who is the owner of one of the only Rum focused bars in the whole state of Texas(Howie’s Tiki). We followed with a tasting of a couple of appetizers, main dishes and desserts from their menu. Here are my thoughts:

Wish You Were Here: A four rum based cocktail served over one block of ice. If you are a Rum enthusiast like myself, you’ll be happy to know that this bar serves a variety of rum based cocktails. Wish You Were Here is one of their “Old Fashioneds” which goes down with less of a punch and is made for people like me(or us if you like Rum too).

Sticky Ribs: 3 lightly fried and Wok tossed Pork ribs in a citrus soy honey glaze. GOOD GOD! These ribs are cooked to perfection, the meat just falls of the bone. The glaze is just the right amount of sweetness and doesn’t overpower the meat. I would risk it all for these ribs(you hear me?)

Jalapeno Poppers: Tempura Fried Jalapeno halves, stuffed with cream cheese, crabmeat, peanut and bacon bits. Another great appetizer, although all of my attention was dedicated to the ribs – the poppers were a great choice as well!

Roasted Lamb Chop: Chili marinated lamb chop, in a veal demi-glazed served atop Truffle aioli mashed potatoes. There’s something about lamb meat, probably how tender and easily digestible it is. The mashed potatoes were mashed to the smoothest puree you’ll ever have and are an excellent pairing with the roasted lamb.

Gulf Snapper in Chef’s Spicy Sauce: Wood grilled snapper fillet, served with sautéed asian mixed vegetables in a spicy black bean and butter sauce. The orchid was a beautiful garnish to this light dish. Being a consumer of spicy foods, I wished I could taste the spicy sauce on the fillet.

Flaming Cedar Plank Red Snapper: Fresh Red Snapper roasted on Cedar wood served in flames(whaaa?) with a side of balsamic porcine mushroom sauce, broccoli and squash. This dish is quite the experience, it’s brought to you in flames and will have the whole restaurant envious. Once it arrives to your table, a member of the staff will put out the fire and plate your snapper. This one another light refreshing dish, the snapper has a smoky kick which is quite lovely, and paired with the mushroom sauce its perfect!

Pot De Creme: The Pot de creme is made with dark chocolate and topped with whipped cream. This dessert is heavy of the chocolate(well duh!) You’d most definitely love it if you’re a fan of chocolate!

Tres Leches Cheesecake: This is such an interesting pairing, which I can’t even imagine how long it takes to make. If a wedding dress was a cake, this would be it – It’s beautiful, layered, light in color but rich is taste. Such an amazing combination!

Chocolate Eruption Cake: This might look heavy coming out, but it’s as smooth as a sweat talker. It is creamy and not heavy on the chocolate, I would say it tastes light but those aren’t the right words. It’s extremely creamy and delightful!